Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Easter Holidays Part III - So many beaches, so little time

I have to get us from the ACT to Sydney, up north to a gorgeous little beach town called Forster, and then back through Sydney (a challenge in itself as we had to drive back through that city in order to go south) on to the southern coast of NSW and around the bottom back into Victoria and home. We drove, and drove, and drove... it felt like too much at times, but we did get to see a lot of beautiful places.

Over the Harbour Bridge to the north beaches of Sydney, staying in Collaroy Beach at the YHA. We were one of about 4 families there -- three sets on holiday, one set apparently evicted from their home because of parental drug problems (everyone knows your story quickly), and the usual wide ranging crowd of the young partiers to the older travellers. The last time I stayed in Sydney, I was quite disgruntled with the Brit party crowd -- everyone stuck together, everyone went to the same bars, and everyone drank together. Period. No more, no less. Oh, some of them smoked too while they drank, but that was it. There was a crowd like that at this hostel, but generally were respectful of the 10 a.m. curfew on the balcony and then left to hit the pubs. There were enough other real travellers to balance the effects. We met some wonderful and intriguing Aussies, living away from home for a variety of reasons -- jobs, escaping a bad social experience related to drugs, moving on to new opportunities, everyone was open and friendly. This was a new experience for our kids, and they enjoyed it. Our family was all crammed into one room -- a bit cozy -- but it can be done, especially because of the bigger lounge areas, outdoor deck and pool, and the communal kitchen. On the recommendation of Drew, who was working on his application for the Australian navy, we visited the big national park in the region, Ku-ring-gai Chase.http://picasaweb.google.com/brigittewiebe/KuRingGaiChaseNationalPark# .

We also spent a day at Collaroy Beach playing in the salt water pool and the waves, took a Sydney Harbour ferry from Manly Beach to Sydney Harbour, and drove out 4 days later. Not enough time, by half. Sydney is a beautiful city, with coves, harbours, hills and mountains, salt marshes, surfing beaches, and yes, Nicole Kidman, who was visiting her big estate in the southern suburbs for the Easter holiday as we were breathlessly informed every day in the newspaper. The Easter Bunny managed to find us at the Collaroy Beach Hostel, of all places, but we didn't see Ms Kidman anywhere.

Our trip north took us to a sweet little beach town called Forster and we had a great 2 days playing in the surf under the watchful eyes of the Forster Lifesaving Club members. Thank god for them, because the waves were huge. They also had a huge saltwater pool, so at times we were in there and at times in the waves. We learned how to dive into the rollers so we wouldn't get pummelled, but I actually got nervous in the afternoon as the tide started coming in and the size of the waves increased. Then, realizing we weren't going to make it up to Brisbane AND get back in time for school to start, we headed back south, to drive around the coast of NSW and into Victoria.

We did make a few stops on the way south -- to visit local highlights, such as the Australia Rock; to go to a pottery and studio in an old church in the town of Mogo. To find out, by chance, about a $4 lunch special at the Tomakin Social Club. Of course we went! That was a great deal, and they also served amazingly great coffee. The meal is a lure for people to come and play the pokies, but we were more interested in the food they had to offer as it was lunch time and we were hungry. (The casinos are privately owned, with no government "interference", other than approval for licenses. This has created some mega personal fortunes for the business people who invest in the casino.) We stayed in Ulladulla and Eden. Eden is home to a Killer Whale Museum, and we spent some time there learning about the whaling industry, the changes in policy related to whale hunting, how local killer whales (orca) worked in pods to herd the larger baleen whales into the harbour so the whalers could have easier access for the kill. The local Aboriginal community told stories dating back to pre-European contact of this practice, and they then taught it to the European whalers who settled in the area. Old Tom, the best known of the killers, lived to 1930, and there were older residents who remember seeing him and seeing him work. As an aside, you can imagine how much fun Nicole, Gabe and Kai had with the name "Old Tom"!http://picasaweb.google.com/brigittewiebe/SECoastNSWAndVictoria#

We made it home safely, driving from Eden to the Dandenongs in one day. A pit stop at a road side toilet near Warragul, in the dark, scared the dickens out of us. It seemed a long way off the highway, but we all needed to stop, so we proceeded. No street lights. Very little signage. The actual toilet building had one light, and there was a gravel parking lot with a motor home parked in it beside the "No overnight parking" sign. The building was barren, cold, and everything was scrawled with graffiti. A few cars drove up, turned their lights out. We were creeped out. I'm guessing there was some drug dealing happening, so we highlighted it out of there. On to our home in Ferny Creek. A long drive, but we were glad to unpack, get into our own beds, and change our mindset back toward school and seeing friends.

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Snow Days

Back in Canada

Date and Ginger Oaties

I've mentioned the date and ginger cookies by the Byron Bay Cookie Co. I'm still looking for their recipe, but have been experimenting with a few of my own, and have found a fig and ginger recipe that can be adapted and gets quite close to the Byron Bay original!

Sift flour into bowl, stir in oats, coconut, sugar, dates and ginger. Combine butter and golden syrup and water in pan, stir over low heat (or use microwave) until the butter is melted. Stir hot bubbling mixture into the flour mixture.

Shape 2 level tsps of mixture into a ball, place onto greased (or use paper) oven tray. Flatten slightly. Allow about 5 cm between cookies. Bake in moderately hot oven (180/350ish or a bit hotter) for 12 - 15 minutes (depends on size of cookie) or until slightly browned.

Lay the sliced oranges on a platter and scatter over some of the radish, sliced thinly. Grate the remaining radishes and mix with the carrot.

Mix olive oil, cumin, cinnamon, orange blossom water and lemon juice, and season with salt. If you can't get the orange blossom water, just leave it out... I have tasted a salad with it as a dressing and it's amazing, but don't stress about finding it if it isn't easily available. Pour the dressing over the grated carrots and refrigerate for 15 minutes. To serve, pile carrot and radish mix on top of the orange and radish slices, and dust with a little cinnamon.

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat and add the laksa paste, stirring occasionally for 2 min. Add the sugar and cook until dissolved. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock and kaffir lime leaves and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, chicken slices and prawns (add prawns later if you wish), and getnly poach them until just cooked.

Drain the rice noodles. Divide the noodles, tofu and bean sprouts among four large bowls and ladle over the soup, chicken and prawns. Top with shallots and coriander leaves.

Spring Flowers

Suzannah Espie

Parrot Visitor

Singer Alex Lloyd

Pennywhistle by Augie March

Orange and Almond Cake

Ingredients1 large orange3 eggs1 heaped cup castor sugar1/2 tsp baking powder (increase if not using s.r. flour)1 cup almond meal1/3 cup S.R. flour (the brand used in the original recipe is gluten-free, I think)

Method1. Place orange in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook 1 hour or until orange is very soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove seeds from orange and place in food processor/blender. Blend orange, including skin, until smooth. Cool.2. Preheat oven -- 180 - 200 C.3. Grease and line 20 cm springform pan with baking paper.4. Beat eggs, sugar and baking powder until thick and pale.5. Mix orange pulp into egg mix.6. Whisk flour and almond meal together and fold into egg and orange mixture.7. Pour into prepared tin.8. Bake 45 minutes. Insert skewer into centre of cake to ensure cake is cooked. This cake is slightly moist when finished.9. Cool cake in oven. (Turn oven off first!)From Dianne Boyle.

1. Heat oven to 180C. Roast beetroot in oven on baking tray for 35 minutes or until tender. (I did not wrap in foil.) Cool when finished, peel skin, and cut into wedges.2. To make dressing, combine oil, vinegar and brown sugar. I didn't have red wine vinegar so I used a sweetish red wine we have in the house and combined it with the oil, and some white wine vinegar. Season with cracked pepper and salt.3. Place beetroot in large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and marinate if you have time. Add the spinach and gently toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with goat's cheese and walnuts.

Adapted from taste.com.au

Cate's Scones

We are in the final throes of winter. The following scone recipe is courtesy of Cate, our neighbour.

Method1. Set oven at 220 C.2. Rub butter into flour and salt, using the fingertips.3. Mix into a soft dough with milk. Add a little milk if required.4. Turn on to a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic.5. Roll out 2 cm thick and cut into shapes.6. Arrange on oven tray and glaze tips with milk.7. Bake at 220 C for 10 - 15 min.

Ned Kelly helmet

Anzac Biscuits

Method:1. Mix oats, flour, sugar and coconut together.2. Melt syrup and butter together.3. Mix soda with boiling water and add to melted butter and syrup.4. Add to dry ingredients.5. Place teaspoons of mixture well spaced on a greased baking tray.6. Bake in a slow oven for 12 - 15 minutes at 180C.

Watch them. Every oven is different and they can dry out quickly. Makes up to 50 (small, obviously; we got about 25 biscuits out of this recipe).

Passionfruit buttercake

125 g butter, melted300 g (2 cups) self raising flour (or add 1.5 tsp baking powder)1/3 cup buttermilk2 eggs, lightly beaten1 cup sugar1 tsp lemon zest2 passionfruit, to serve1 cup icing sugar, to serve1. Preheat oven to 175C. Grease and line a loaf pan. Place the butter, flour, buttermilk, eggs, sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl. Using hand beaters (or a wooden spoon), mix until well combined.2. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 45 - 50 min or until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Cool in the pan for 5 min then transfer to a wire rack. To serve, remove the pulp from the passionfruit and place in a small bowl. Add the icing sugar and stir to combine until the mixture forms a smooth paste. Drizzle passionfruit mixture over the cake.

If you can't find passionfruit, use the juice and pulp of any tart fruit you love.ENJOY. Adapted from a recipe in the Herald Sun's taste.com.au, May 6, 2009.

Tom Roberts

Spring Sale and Open House - May 9

Rosalie Gascoigne

black bird box 1976

Book and Music List

"it's raining in Mango" by Thea Astley. Bought it used in Nimbin. The guy selling books couldn't help me out when I asked about it. A nice surprise. Traces 5 generations of a family with Irish and Canadian roots in northern Queensland.

Ruth Parks: "Missus", "The Harp in the South", and "Poor Man's Orange". Set in country Aus and on to Sydney. Follows an economically (and socially) deprived family over several generations. It's pathetic at a basic level, but inspiring to see how certain individuals try to escape their status.

"The Castle" and "Crackerjack" -- 2 sweet little Aussie movies. In "The Castle", a man fights a powerful corporation from taking over his house to enlarge the airport acquisition. "Crackerjack" is about the members of a lawn bowling club and their fight to save the club without resorting to the pokies.

the waddi tree by Kerry McGinnis (author of The Road to Coorain) -- an authentic account of growing up in the outback in the 1950s/60s